Jaden Smith Is About To Turn 18, And Despite Rumors He Is Not Undergoing Gender Reassignment

Jaden Smith has made a huge name for himself in recent years, but in the last few months, the 17-year-old son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith has really come into his own. He’s been estimated to be worth $8 million in his own right and has a highly successful career as an actor (Jaden Smith made his big screen debut alongside his famous dad in The Pursuit of Happiness). He’s a singer and dancer and has been touting the upcoming release of his first album all over social media. Jaden is even an accomplished model; using his gender fluid style to break down barriers in the fashion industry, he recently became the first male face of Louis Vuitton’s women’s fashion.

He’s even starring in an upcoming Netflix series.

Nova imagem do Jaden Smith na série The Get Down da #Netflix Essa série tá ficando cada vez mais <3 #TheGetDown pic.twitter.com/ZB2GCyDjHZ

— Diego Lemos (@ddiegolemos) May 21, 2016

With all of his accomplishments and career success, though, it’s Jaden Smith’s gender fluid style that’s kept him in the headlines and made him a social media darling. Jaden famously attended prom with Amandla Stenberg (of The Hunger Games) dressed in a skirt. He’s an outspoken supporter of the LGBT community, often using his massive social media following to spread the word about tolerance and acceptance. Following the Orlando terror attack, Jaden Smith retweeted words of love and support for the victims and the LGBT community at large.

Because of his unabashed gender fluidity and his support for the LGBT community, it’s not surprising that Jaden Smith has been the target of some LGBT rumors himself. Let’s face it — as far as the LGBT community has come, especially in the last couple of years, LGBT individuals are still often targeted by hate. The Orlando massacre clearly demonstrated that despite new equality laws, LGBT individuals have a long way to go before they’re truly accepted in the U.S.

Following the Orlando terror attacks, supporters of the LGBT community successfully embarked upon what would become the most successful, highest-grossing GoFundMe campaign in the site’s history. Even so, some areas refused to lower their flags to half-mast to honor the victims of the shooting, and religious groups (from the Westboro Baptist Church on down the line) used the Orlando tragedy to spread messages of hate. When local Florida governments opted to raise the rainbow flag in support of victims and in a show of solidarity, CNN reports some people claimed that seeing the rainbow flag constituted a “hostile work environment.”

Because of the continued struggle faced by the LGBT community, it’s no surprise that when haters want to criticize and attack Jaden Smith, they go straight for the cross-dressing angle. For months, rumors have swirled that Jaden Smith would be undergoing a “penectomy” on his 18th birthday in celebration of his gender fluid lifestyle, and Buzztache is one site that helped get the word out. As Jaden Smith’s 18th birthday rapidly draws nearer (he’ll turn 18 on July 8), the rumors are once again starting to ramp up.

Unfortunately for the gossipers, they have absolutely no basis in fact. Rumor has it that the original rumor that Jaden was going to have his penis removed to buttress his gender fluidity started on the website NAHA Daily ( “NAHA” stands for “Negroes Against Hairline Abuse”), reports 360 Nobs. NAHA Daily, however, is purely a satirical website, so they weren’t really starting a Jaden Smith rumor when they posted the story — they were making a Jaden Smith joke. They even included a fake Jaden Smith quote for effect.

“This is a decision I made on my own, but I hope this doesn’t affect my parents decision to assist me with this financially. My p**is doesn’t define me.’ ‘I’m not gay, I’m not straight, I’ll just be a penis-less boy name Jaden.'”

Not everyone reads the fine print, though, and the Jaden Smith penectomy story spread like wildfire around the internet when was only about 16 years old. Not cool, internet. Not cool.

Not because there’s anything wrong with gender reassignment, but the bottom line is that Jaden Smith was a child at the time the web was bashing his gender identity.

For a while, the Jaden Smith transgender rumors cooled down, but as his 18th birthday began to loom on the very near horizon, not even his very public relationship with Sarah Snyder has protected him from the nagging rumors that his 18th birthday will result in a very big life change.

Jaden has made some actual statements about his gender fluidity, and they have also been very supportive of the LGBT community and his own personal sense of style. Rather than saying he was going to modify his body, Jaden Smith has talked about wanting to modify the minds and perceptions of people who think that gender is somehow defined by the clothes we choose to wear.

“I feel like people don’t really get it. I’m not saying that I get it, I’m just saying that I’ve never seen any distinction. I don’t see man clothes and women clothes. I just see scared people and comfortable people.”

So, no. Jaden is not going to have his penis surgically removed on his 18th birthday. The rumor started as satire, and it has taken on a life of its own and absolutely refused to die. It looks like the lesson in all this is that when it comes to news about Jaden Smith and other celebs, make sure the source of your gossip isn’t completely fabricated before you share it as truth.

[Image via Shutterstock]